Random Access Procedure Enhancements for Heterogeneous Networks

1. A method for wireless communications by a base station (BS), comprising: configuring, by the BS, a user equipment (UE) with parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein performance of the different types of RA procedures is based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; receiving, by the BS, one or more RA messages sent in accordance with one of the types RA procedures; and identifying, by the BS, the at least one attribute of the UE based on the type of RA procedure used, wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the at least one attribute further indicates an interference condition by the UE.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: determining the UE has not detected the interference condition if the UE utilizes a first type of RA procedure; and determining the UE has detected the interference condition if the UE utilizes a second type of RA procedure.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising: transmitting resource partitioning information (RPI) to the UE for use in performing the second type of RA procedure, the RPI indicating subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the receiving comprises: receiving a message comprising at least one of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement or a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising: transmitting a threshold value, wherein at least one of the received RA messages indicates at least one of a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement or a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) measurement exceeds the threshold value.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein transmitting the threshold value comprises broadcasting the threshold value in a system information block (SIB).

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the RA messages comprises a bit indicating the interference condition exists.

9. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: transmitting a message with a delay bit set; and receiving a message that the interference condition exists at a later time than if the delay bit was not set.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the receiving comprises receiving at least one preamble transmitted from the UE; and the identifying comprises identifying the at least one attribute based on the at least one preamble.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the at least one preamble comprises at least first and second preambles.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first and second preambles are received in a same subframe but using different frequency resources.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first and second preambles are received with different preamble IDs.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first and second preambles are received in different subframes.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the receiving comprises: concluding that the first and second preambles are received from the same UE if the first and second preambles are received with timing and power that differs less than a threshold amount.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises: determining the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning if the one or more RA messages comprise a defined sequence transmitted on a random access channel.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises: determining the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning if the one or more RA messages is sent using predefined frequency resources.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises: determining the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning if the one or more RA messages is sent in a predefined time location.

19. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: means for configuring user equipment (UE) with parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein performance of the different types of RA procedures is based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; means for receiving one or more RA messages sent in accordance with one of the types of RA procedures; and means for identifying the at least one attribute of the UE based on the type of RA procedure used, wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein: the at least one attribute further indicates an interference condition by the UE.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 , comprising: means for determining the UE has not detected the interference condition if the UE utilizes a first type of RA procedure; and means for determining the UE has detected the interference condition if the UE utilizes a second type of RA procedure.

22. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein: the means for receiving comprises means for receiving at least one preamble transmitted from the UE; and the means for identifying comprises means for identifying the at least one attribute based on the at least one preamble.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the at least one preamble comprises at least first and second preambles.

24. An apparatus for wireless communications, comprising: at least one processor configured to: configure a user equipment (UE) with parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein performance of the different types of RA procedures is based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; receive one or more RA messages sent in accordance with one of the types of RA procedures; and identify the at least one attribute of the UE based on the type of RA procedure used, wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard; and a memory coupled with the at least one processor.

25. A non-transitory computer readable medium of an apparatus having instructions stored thereon, the instructions executable by one or more processors for: configuring, by the apparatus, a user equipment (UE) with parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein performance of the different types of RA procedures is based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; receiving, by the apparatus, one or more RA messages sent in accordance with one of the types of RA procedures; and identifying, by the apparatus, the at least one attribute of the UE based on the type of RA procedure used, wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard.

26. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, by the UE, parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein the different types of RA procedures are selectively performed by the UE based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; and transmitting, by the UE, one or more RA messages in accordance with the received parameters, wherein the one or more RA messages indicate the at least one attribute of the UE, and wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein transmitting the one or more RA messages in accordance with the received parameters comprises: transmitting the one or more RA messages using a first physical random access channel (PRACH) sequence, the first PRACH sequence being distinct from a second PRACH sequence used for another RA procedure of the different types of RA procedures.

28. The method of claim 27 , wherein the first PRACH sequence and the second PRACH sequence comprise one of: different root sequences or different orthogonal shifts of a same root sequence.

29. The method of claim 26 , wherein receiving parameters for performing the different types of RA procedures comprises: receiving parameters indicating a first set of frequency locations, the first set of frequency locations being distinct from a second set of frequency locations associated with another RA procedure of the different types of RA procedures.

30. The method of claim 26 , wherein receiving parameters for performing the different types of RA procedures comprises: receiving parameters indicating a first set of time locations, the first set of time locations being distinct from a second set of time locations associated with another RA procedure of the different types of RA procedures.

31. The method of claim 26 , wherein: the UE comprises a non-legacy UE, and transmitting the one or more RA messages comprises transmitting an indication the UE is capable of recognizing resource partitioning information (RPI).

32. The method of claim 26 , wherein: transmitting the one or more RA messages comprises transmitting an indication of a detected interference condition.

33. The method of claim 26 , wherein transmitting, by the UE, one or more RA messages in accordance with the received parameters includes transmitting on a first set of frequency locations, the first set of frequency locations being distinct from a second set of frequency locations associated with another RA procedure of the different types of RA procedures.

34. The method of claim 26 , wherein transmitting, by the UE, one or more RA messages in accordance with the received parameters includes transmitting on a first set of time locations, the first set of time locations being distinct from a second set of time locations associated with another RA procedure of the different types of RA procedures.

35. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, by the UE, parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein the different types of RA procedures are selectively performed by the UE based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; and means for transmitting, by the UE, one or more RA messages in accordance with the received parameters, wherein the one or more RA messages indicate the at least one attribute of the UE, and wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard.

36. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one processor configured to: receive, by the UE, parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein the different types of RA procedures are selectively performed by the UE based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; and transmit, by the UE, one or more RA messages in accordance with the received parameters, wherein the one or more RA messages indicate the at least one attribute of the UE, and wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard; and a memory coupled with the at least one processor.

37. A non-transitory computer readable medium of a user equipment (UE) having instructions stored thereon, the instructions executable by one or more processors for: receiving, by the UE, parameters for performing different types of random access (RA) procedures, wherein the different types of RA procedures are selectively performed by the UE based, at least in part, on at least one attribute of the UE, wherein the at least one attribute indicates whether or not the UE is capable of being aware of subframes subject to cooperative partitioning of resources between the BS and one or more non-serving BSs, and wherein the different types of RA procedures comprise: a first type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a first version of a standard; and a second type of RA procedure to indicate the UE is capable of complying with a second version of the standard later than the first version; and transmitting, by the UE, one or more RA messages in accordance with the received parameters, wherein the one or more RA messages indicate the at least one attribute of the UE, and wherein the at least one attribute of the UE indicates a capability to support a particular version of a wireless communications standard.